Among the star speakers at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong last week was Wang Jianlin, the richest man in China and the head of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties — one of many entities he controls.
As Mr Wang swept in and out of the convention centre, he was accompanied by a sea of bodyguards. Given how many Chinese businesspeople have gone missing, bodyguards have become an increasingly visible part of the landscape in Hong Kong — though they are of little use against a summons from the Communist party.
In any case the bodyguards were not enough to protect Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties two days later from being placed on “credit watch” with negative implications. Standard & Poor’s noted: “Its leverage could deteriorate further over the next 12 months if debt is higher and property sales are weaker than expected.”